Source: Israel-Lebanon security annex preserves full IDF freedom of action; Jerusalem remains wary of Iran interference

By Nava Freiberg

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

28 June 2026, 8:57 pm

Edit

Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

(From L-R) Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, US State Department Counselor Dan Holler and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh sign a framework agreement for a partial IDF withdrawal from south Lebanon at the State Department on June 26, 2026. (Screen capture/YouTube)

A classified security annex of the recently signed Israel-Lebanon framework explicitly preserves the IDF’s full freedom to act against threats in its southern Lebanon security zone and reiterates that there will be no automatic IDF withdrawals, though Jerusalem remains wary that pressure from Tehran could derail the agreement, an official familiar with the content of the agreement tells The Times of Israel, confirming an unsourced Channel 12 report.

The security annex, referenced in the published text of the agreement, has been kept classified at the request of the Lebanese government, according to the details.

Article 4 of the annex includes a provision that the IDF will retain freedom of action against both emerging and immediate threats within the security zone — a top priority for Israel amid recent fears that US-Iran negotiations would limit its ability to respond to threats on troops from Hezbollah.

The article also includes an explicit commitment by both Israel and Lebanon that no IDF withdrawals will take place automatically or according to set schedules; rather, any redeployments will be based on conditions on the ground. The main agreement similarly says the pullout will be performance-based.

The annex is also said to specify that the two pilot zones announced yesterday will remain the only such areas for the foreseeable future, with no immediate plans to expand the arrangement.

Israel’s current assessment is that the pilot project, under which the Lebanese army will enter those initial two designated areas after training and vetting, will take several weeks to implement, while the Lebanese forces prepare to assume responsibility there, according to the details.

Israeli officials remain concerned that Iran could seek to undermine the arrangement through its parallel talks with Washington, pressing the US to demand a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon as part of a broader US-Iran agreement, adds the Channel 12 report confirmed by the official.